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Thread: Mordaunt Short Performance 880 Loudspeakers

  1. #1
    Bigman80 Guest

    Default Mordaunt Short Performance 880 Loudspeakers

    Background

    In an overpopulated area of the HiFi market, used speakers are somewhat, 10-a-penny. A dizzying array of tall or short boxes, often seeming quite nice on the eye, yet slated in the listening. For me, this has been an area of utter reluctance, almost ignorance. I've heard speakers that have made me wince or fall asleep and some that sounded right. I hadn't heard anything other than the Yamaha NS1000 that made me want to delve into the market.

    I couldn't afford those, still cant. I opted to act on the recommendation of our very own Walpurgis and snap up a pair of Pioneer CS-77a. They did a lot of what I liked about the Yammies. Over time I had managed to all but forget what the Yammies did. Then I got a stark reminder of what "could" be.

    Macca's JMLabs electra's hit me like a football to the face on a frosty Sunday morning.

    All the refinement of the Yammies yet with more scale. Heavenly on the end of a Krell KSA50s. This, I was sure was where I'd end up. Alas, with no used pairs sold in almost two years, it seemed like a waiting game that wouldn't end. Then a glimmer of hope, a pair emerged but for £1000 on ebay. I didn't have the cash or the inclination to travel to London to fetch them.

    I kept telling myself that I was first in line for Macca's pair. His Tannoys were close to being finished. The wait was almost over.

    Let me set the scene for what happened next.

    Lying in bed, warm cup of tea, 2 sugars as a special treat. Perfect. A quick browse of Facebooks Marketplace and blam! There was that football again, smacking me in the face. A pair of Black speakers, marked only as "Black speakers for sale"

    One picture and it was side on. No driver pics, no pics of condition, nothing. Just a pic and an interesting price. I checked how long the advert had been up. One Week. Damn!

    I messaged the seller to see if he still had them and if I could go and have a look, confident that it would in vain. Sure enough, 12 hours passed and I hadn't heard back. Then a message. "Yes they are still here"

    I arranged with the seller to go and see them. His house was 5 streets away from mine and we struck a deal. I was the new owner of the Mordaunt Short Performance 880.

    The Speaker

    There isn't much in the way of information about these. What I have found out has been via other owners in old forum posts.

    Released in 1997 along with the 860 & 820. Full range speakers with Resinrock cabinets. Time aligned and featuring AIS (Acoustic Isolation System)

    More info here:

    https://i.postimg.cc/yYsSgrFQ/1151388563.jpg

    Thanks to Jamie for this.

    The Listening

    As usual, there has been quite a lot of change in my system, but it's simple to hear how the speakers have performed. They deliver scale with an even hand across the frequency range. Seamless from top to bottom. Sometimes we hear speakers which can emphasis specific regions of frequency. That is not the case here.

    Vocals are human in their portrayal. They do not harden in the extremes and they deliver with utter poise and control. Violins and other stringed instruments are accurately resolved. The wooden body of the instrument is clearly audible. Yet its without warmth or midband emphasis.

    When pushed for more power, they go louder but lose nothing in clarity or control. They remain smooth and detailed. Delivering the Micro detail my ears crave. The aluminium dome tweeter has delicacy and finesse. One of the main concerns when one sees a metal tweeter, is whether it will be too aggressive. Again, Mordaunt-Short have delivered. HF is sweet and clean.

    The depth and width of the soundstage is grand and in a bigger room, they would sound bigger again. Soundstage accuracy is high with an ability to pinpoint instruments easily.

    Bass is taut and punchy but it's the detail in the bass that has caught my attention. No one note boom here! On Rodrigo y Gabriella - FOC live, the ability of the speakers to decipher every node and every touch, at breakneck speed, was breath taking. I mean that. The power and poise was eye opening. It's also digging up the Earth's core with the depth they go to. Mind boggling.

    I haven't found a genre of music that they cannot cope with. Nothing has flustered them or made them sound ragged. I have tried.

    Summary

    I didn't look for these speakers. I didn't even know they existed.

    Sometimes you need to be lucky, and I certainly was. Not only to have found, what looks to be a rare speaker on the used marked, but the price I got them for. Luckier still after listening to them.

    My urge to try the JMLabs has been surgically removed, as has that of any speaker. The 880's are, in my humble opinion......EPIC.

    These speakers cost around £4k when new in 1997.

    I paid........£280. Thanks Facebook

    Some Pics

    I'll take some as best I can when I get a minute but for now:

    https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c926f2c1_k.jpg

    http://www.hifido.co.jp/photo/09/226/22636/a.jpg
    Last edited by Bigman80; 05-11-2019 at 09:36.

  2. #2
    Join Date: Jan 2014

    Location: london se6

    Posts: 823
    I'm AndyElectroNumpty.

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    Nice one , great to have a bit of good luck sometimes.

    Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
    At the cutting edge of Numptyness!

  3. #3
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by smangus View Post
    Nice one , great to have a bit of good luck sometimes.

    Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
    Isn't It just!

  4. #4
    Join Date: May 2011

    Location: Glasgow

    Posts: 7,718
    I'm Brian.

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    Well you have taken a few ' calculated risks ' in the past few years Oli and they've paid off . You seem to have got some exceptional kit for a very good price . Some luck is also needed because exceptional kit doesn't always work in your listening room , as I've discovered over the years like your self . Sounds like you're almost there mate .
    I've had some MA standmount speakers over the years and sold them on because they just didn't have the ' weight ' I was looking for , although they were very good in most other areas . Never got the chance to try a pair of floor standers . Looks like you've found an exceptional pair of speakers there
    Regards
    Brian

    Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment . (Rumi )


    Korus Computer Audio music server
    JustBoom DAC . HRT Musicstreamer 2
    Amplifier : Sony TA FB740R
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    Speaker cables : Western Electric 16AG

  5. #5
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: gone

    Posts: 11,519
    I'm gone.

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    I recall these being very well received when they came out, but have never heard them.

    Excellent user reviews apart from one obvious troll - http://www.audioreview.com/product/s...short/880.html

    £280 for what would probably now be £8k or £10k speakers who says Santa Claus doesn't exist?
    .

  6. #6
    Bigman80 Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by brian2957 View Post
    Well you have taken a few ' calculated risks ' in the past few years Oli and they've paid off . You seem to have got some exceptional kit for a very good price . Some luck is also needed because exceptional kit doesn't always work in your listening room , as I've discovered over the years like your self . Sounds like you're almost there mate .
    I've had some MA standmount speakers over the years and sold them on because they just didn't have the ' weight ' I was looking for , although they were very good in most other areas . Never got the chance to try a pair of floor standers . Looks like you've found an exceptional pair of speakers there
    I must admit, I have spend hours on end researching the used market and yes, I've done well out of it. My latest system hasn't actually cost me anything to put together so I am supremely happy.

  7. #7
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: gone

    Posts: 11,519
    I'm gone.

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    .

  8. #8
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandl100 View Post
    i'll show you pics you wont believe

    well done on the speakers, they look good
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

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  9. #9
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandl100 View Post
    I recall these being very well received when they came out, but have never heard them.

    Excellent user reviews apart from one obvious troll - http://www.audioreview.com/product/s...short/880.html

    £280 for what would probably now be £8k or £10k speakers who says Santa Claus doesn't exist?
    I must have been a very good boy this year!

    Yes, there's only one company I have found that make anything out of the same sort of material and their speakers are astronomical. It's not unrealistic to consider them in the £10k range in modern terms. Id suggest that IF anyone does see a pair for under £1k, they do their utmost to try them.

    They have left an impression on Jimbo that I don't know if he'll ever recover from lol

  10. #10
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    i'll show you pics you wont believe

    well done on the speakers, they look good
    hahaha, yes, I know about the pics but I haven't got any with me! I'll see what I can do.

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